


Meet Me at the Library

by mixtapemily



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, Light Angst, M/M, its more like doyoung lets the future freak him out for a hot second and johnny gets sad about it, johnny and doyoung are the biggest nerds in this world, johnny and ten's friendship in this is so soft imma cry, so more like light sad, this was not supposed to be this long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-09-29 02:09:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17194526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mixtapemily/pseuds/mixtapemily
Summary: Johnny spent the past four years of his life in the library, and as he enters his last semester of college he fears that he is going to be forever alone.





	Meet Me at the Library

"What do you mean you haven't been on a date in nearly four years, Johnny?" Ten sputtered with a nasty cackle following afterwards.

"I've been busy," Johnny mumbled as his lips formed into a pout and his arms folded across his chest.

"With what?" Ten questioned with a raised eyebrow as he stirred his straw around in his nearly finished milkshake.

"Studying," Johnny mumbled even quieter as he sunk down further into the booth.

"Oh my god, I knew you were a nerd, but I didn't know you were that big of one!" Ten screeched gaining the attention of half of the customers in the diner.

"Shut up," Johnny squeaked as his face flushed due to the new sets of eyes staring at the pair.

"I would listen to Johnny, Ten. Do you really want the owner to threaten to throw you out again?" Yuta chuckles as he leaves their bill and picks up the now empty dishes from the table and took them back to the kitchen once again.

"I really don't know what Taeyong sees in you, you complete nuisance," Johnny said as he paid for both his and Ten's meal as it was his turn.

"I don't think you really have room to speak, Mr. 'I haven't been on a date since I entered college' Suh," Ten joked as the two stood up and headed towards the exit of the small diner.

"Shut up!" Johnny whined once outside.

"Really, Johnny, you need to at least ask someone out before you graduate. Your opportunities are going to decrease drastically once you graduate," Ten spoke as he started heading in the way of his apartment. With a quick goodbye and a wave Johnny started walking in the opposite direction, towards the library.

Johnny blames that conversation with Ten for single-handedly sparking the fear of eternal loneliness within him. He knew that he had been very focused on school for the past four years of his life, and he didn't believe that to be a bad thing. That was until he realized that studying had become his life. When Johnny thought about, he couldn't really remember a time in the recent past that he really did something that he enjoyed. Even over the summer he looked more into different teaching methods, and different ideas for lesson plans, and how to run a classroom. You could say Johnny was a little nervous about becoming a teacher, but he didn't realize that he had let that worry consume him.

As Johnny finally reached the library he made the familiar trek up to the fifth floor where he sat in his usual spot and pulled out his laptop. Johnny couldn't wait for this semester to end so that he could be done with student teaching. Don't be mistaken, Johnny loves being in the classroom and working with the kids, but he can't stand the feeling of every little movement he makes being evaluated. He is tired of the overly excessive lesson plan format he has to use and the way he has to be filmed once a week and he has to evaluate himself. Johnny is just tired of people making him feel so inferior and like he can't run a classroom without someone holding his hand every step of the way.

Johnny was starting to look over what topics he would need to cover in his lesson for the next week when he heard the sound of the chair next to him being pulled out. When Johnny looked over he didn't expect to see the cutest boy he had seen in his life. And maybe he was being a little dramatic, but he definitely wasn't bad looking. He knew he should look away and go back to working on his lesson plan, but he couldn't seem to look away from the boy with sharp eyes and raven hair.

He didn't think he could find the stranger any cuter with his baggy sweatpants and over sized sweatshirt that engulfed his hands, that was until he watched the boy pull out binders covered in little stickers of plants with 'PBIO' written neatly in the corner, followed by a pair of bunny slippers that he slipped onto his feet. He just looked so cute, and cozy, and nerdy.

So cute, and cozy, and nerdy that Johnny quickly ditched the idea of introducing himself to the boy and quickly picked up all of his belongings moving to the other end of the library. Johnny can already imagine the scolding he would receive from Ten if he told him about the encounter, which is exactly why he didn't.

Johnny would describe the rest of his visit to the library as rather unproductive. He had to read over the topics a handful of times before his brain was even able to rap around what the jumble of words was trying to mean. He knew he needed to get at least half of the weeks lesson plan made up so that he would be able to go to sleep at a decent time on Sunday, but as the hours crept by and it was finally time for Johnny to head home that idea was quickly thrown out the window.

The whole walk home he could only think about how he really wasted eights hours of his day only to get his Monday lesson plan done. At least Johnny always sat down on Friday's and did his self evaluation so he didn't have to worry about that, but the boy wasn't sure how he was supposed to get four more days of lesson plans done tomorrow. Especially with his thoughts being littered by the mystery boy from the library.

This is exactly why Johnny hadn't gone on a date in four years. Even infatuation distracted him from school, what good would a relationship have done?

 

••

 

It was 6 am on Sunday morning and there Johnny sat on the sixth floor of the library with a thermos full of blueberry tea and microwave oatmeal that he had yet to finish from his walk over. His shoulders slightly slouched over his laptop as he tried to hammer out the lesson plans. Johnny really loves organic chemistry and thinks its an important unit to do with high school students, but when the lesson plan has to be designed in a way that if you have a substitute that they could still teach the lesson, things start to become more complicated. He knows how to teach it with visuals and while physically being present, but how is supposed to explain the naming rules  in an easy way on a piece of paper?

A soft groan left Johnny's mouth as he let his head fall onto the wood table. He could feel some of his hair flop and land into the cup of oatmeal, but he honestly couldn't care less at this moment in time. He could already feel a headache forming and he had barely started his work for the day.

When Johnny once again heard the seat next to his scrape against the floor he almost threw his thermos at the person. That was until he lifted his head and saw the same cute boy from the day before. Johnny really didn't have to deal with this, and he really just wanted to crawl into a dark corner and cry at the rate in which his headache was progressing.

"Are you okay?" The stranger asked as they picked up the napkin next to Johnny's laptop and began to gently wipe away the oatmeal from the front of Johnny's hair. His cheeks heated up from embarrassment as he avoided the boys gaze. "You look a little stressed," He said with a small giggle. Johnny swears he almost fainted as he stared at the lopsided gummy smile. He would easily argue that this boy has the cutest smile in the entire world.

"Just a little bit," He said with a small smile as he finally met the others sharp eyes. "Lesson plans can be quiet the headache."

"Oh, I have some ibuprofen if you need it," He said as he dug around in his backpack, and might Johnny add, that is also covered in little pictures of plants. Finally he pulled out a small white bottle and set it down the table with a triumphant look in his eyes.

"Thank god, you are my actual savior right now!" Johnny gasped out as he quickly popped open the bottom and dumped out two of the small pills. He could hear the boy continue to let out little giggles as he watched the boy desperately wash down the pills with his tea that was still much too hot to be chugging it like he was.

"So your an education major?" He questioned as he pulled out his own laptop and many of the same binders and notebooks from yesterday.

"Yeah, AYA integrated science. Are you a plant biology major?" Johnny responded with a small smile as he finally looked at the sweatshirt the boy was wearing today that cute had 'I love plants' written across it in cursive the text appearing to be a vine.

"How could you guess?" He responded in a joking tone. "So what exactly do you want to teach?"

"Chemistry, I honestly got lucky with getting a student teaching position in it, most of the other integrated science majors didn't get so lucky. I sometimes think my kids are heathens, but I can't imagine the absolute monsters that those junior high kids are," Johnny said with a shutter as his eyes focused back on his computer. He was almost finished with his Tuesday lesson plans, which left the only big day as Thursday since he was wanting to use Wednesday and Friday more as days to review what they had learned the previous day and make sure all of the kids understand it.

"God, I could never take teach Chemistry, I passed CHEM 1210 and 1220 by the skin of my teeth."

"Really? Those courses were like a wet dream for me," Johnny said sending both boys into a fit of hushed laughter.

"Yeah, biology is definitely much more of my subject."

"I'm so bad at biology I probably would have cried if that's what my placement would've been," Johnny said as he cringed at even the thought of having to teach the subject. "Fucking parts of the cell," He grumbled as he put the finishing touches on his lesson plan.

"Oh come one, 'the mitochondria is the power house of the cell' it's not that bad."

"Don't even bring that joke up, I didn't even remember that from Biology, I just remember it from that joke," He said as a small blush covered his cheeks from the embarrassment from the truth of his statement. 

"That's kind of cute, actually," He said as he pulled his phone from his pocket. The boys eyes widened as a whispered profanity left his lips. "I completely forgot I was supposed to meet one of my friends to study, I'll see you later!"

Johnny watched as the boy quickly gathered up all of his belongings and quickly rushed down the stars, making his way to one of the lower floors of the library. Something in Johnny's gut told him that the boy didn't forget, and even just the thought of that made Johnny feel oddly warm inside.

 

••

 

Johnny's phone was pressed firmly to his ear as he made his way out of the library at 10 o'clock that night with a light heart and the least amount of stress he has felt in weeks. He got all of his lesson plan done, graded all of the kids work sheets from last week, and even almost completed the exam review sheet he was going to give them on Friday.

"Johnny, are you okay?" Ten's voice worriedly broke through the speaker. Yeah, Johnny probably should have known better than to call his friend this late without texting him first, but he was just too excited.

"Yeah, sorry, it's just kind of late and dark and I didn't really want to walk home without talking to someone." Ten understood. Even thought their university was in a relatively nice town, anywhere can be kind of sketchy once the sun goes down.

"Hey, no problem. How did studying go?" Johnny could tell that Ten was rolling his eyes as he asked the questioned by the little huff he released at the end of it.

And even though Johnny said he wasn't going to tell Ten about the mystery boy, he couldn't hold it in anymore. "I met a boy at the library," Johnny rushed out as his cheeks filled with warmth.

"Oh my god, not another nerd," Ten groaned with the sound of a smile on his words. "So what's his name, Suh? I need details here!" Johnny laughed at the sound of his friends impatience.

"I-I don't actually know-"

"Please, tell me you've at least talked to him," Ten whined.

"Yeah, he's a plant biology major. It's so cute, he has little plant stickers and patches on everything and I'm pretty sure his smile it's self could make crops grow-"

"That was so cheesy please never say that again," Ten choked out as he tried to hold back his laughter.

"Sorry, it's just he's so cute, but I really don't need this type of distraction-"

"Love isn't a distraction, Johnny," Ten huffed out.

"It's not love," Johnny sputtered as he felt his cheeks get warm again for the umpteenth time that day. "I don't even really know him!"

"So you could love him?"

"TEN!"

"You didn't deny it!" He singsonged into the receiver.

"I'm just so stressed, and I have so much work I have to do with my placement, and I just feel like the universe is working against me on this one. I really think I could like him, but now just isn't a good time," Johnny choked out as the reality of his situation came to the forefront once again. He has worked so hard for this and he can't throw it away for some boy. Especially for some boy he doesn't even know the name of.

"Hey, Johnny, it's going to be okay, I promise. Things will work out, they have to," Ten said trying to sooth Johnny through the phone.

"But what if they don't, Ten," Johnny said as a tear fell down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away with a huff. "I'm so tired of being alone, Ten. I'm so lonely and I don't want to feel that way. You have Taeyong, and Yuta has Sicheng, and Taeil has Kun, and I have no one! Why do I have to have no one?" Johnny sniffled as more tears threatened to break lose. Johnny had just been so overwhelmed and stressed lately, and this just so happened to be the last push he needed for it to all feel like too much.

"Why don't you come stay at my place tonight, John. I can text Yuta and let him know," Ten said with a frown firmly planted on his feature.

"Okay," Johnny whispered.

"Good, because I texted him the second you started crying," Ten said not even sounding slightly sorry for his actions.

"Ten," Johnny whined trying to sound even slightly upset at his friend, but in the end just sounding desperate to be held in his embrace so that he can protect him from the reality of the world for a little bit.

"Are you almost here?" Ten asked after a few moments of silence passed.

"Yeah, I'm in the parking lot of the complex now." Ten got up from his bed and headed to open the front door of his apartment. When he opened the door he watched as Johnny climbed up the metal staircase and slumped his way into the small boys room.

It wasn't long before Johnny and Ten were both laying in the twin sized bed as Ten carded his fingers through Johnny's hair.

"I hope you know, you deserve the best this world has to offer," Ten hummed as he pressed a gentle kiss to Johnny's forehead. "You're my best friend and I just want you to be happy and healthy, and I get so upset when you neglect that or think you can't have that. You are such a kind and loving person, Johnny, I don't understand why you can't treat yourself the same way you treat others," Ten whispered as he looked down at the taller boy. Ten knew Johnny had fallen asleep the moment the two had crawled into bed, but that didn't help ease the heavy ache that rested in his chest.

 

••

 

Johnny's week passed in a blur. It was filled with teaching the same sixth period chemistry class at one of the local high schools, the same lame jokes that he had heard for weeks now, and the same cute boy at the library.

"Do you want to get dinner tonight?" Johnny began coughing violently as he heard the question leave the other boys lips.

"What?" Hissed out as he looked into the other boys eyes. Okay, yes they had been sitting by each other all week at the library, and yes they may have been not so subtly flirting, but dear god they still had yet to tell each other their names, and now this boy was asking him to dinner?

"Yeah, I mean, we both leave here pretty late and I figure you probably don't always want to make something to eat when you go home, because I myself am really dreading doing that tonight," the boy said as he continued to work through his flashcards for an exam he had coming up.

Johnny wearily eyed the stack of exams that were sitting in front of him. He knew the kids would give him hell if he didn't give them back tomorrow, but there was no way he would be able to get them done if he went to eat with the other, and there was no way he was passing up this opportunity either.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to cross any boundaries, I just figured-"

"No," Johnny quickly cut off. "I would love, too. I am kind of getting tired of eating instant ramen." The moment Johnny saw the way the other boys eyes lit up he knew he would he would put up with high schoolers whining at him everyday just to see that look in his eyes.

"Okay, just let me run through these flash cards a couple more times and then we can go," he said with a gentle smile before he let his eyes float back to the pieces of paper.

In the amount of Johnny could have graded three more exams, he just sat there looking at the other boy. He watched the way his eyes grazed over the words, and the way his eyes would squint in concentration when he couldn't quite remember. He watched the way he would bite back a smile when he finally got one of the words he was struggling with. And he watched as the boy placed the flashcards back in their holder delicately and continued to pack up the rest of his belongings. Johnny quickly turned away to pack the exams into their folder, turning back to the other when his own belongings were packed away. And their they were again. The most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. Johnny swore in that moment that he could have kissed him, but he didn't because that would have been ridiculous.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Johnny breathed out as he slung his messenger bag over his shoulder and followed the smaller male out of the library.

Johnny almost laughed as he was lead down familiar streets by the giddy boy only for them to stop in front of an oh too familiar diner.

"Is this place good?" He asked as he began to push the front door open.

"Yeah, I actually come here all the time," He said with a small chuckle thinking about some of the absurd memories he made with Ten here.

"Johnny!" He heard someone shout from across the diner. He lifted his head in the direction of the sound to see his roommate, Yuta, rushing towards him. "Who is this?" He asked as his eyebrows wiggled, and Johnny froze. How was he supposed to answer that question? 'Oh, we've been talking for about a week but I still don't know his name, sorry!' Absolutely not!

"Doyoung." Johnny's head whipped around to the person next to him as his eyes widened. "My name is Doyoung," the boy said with a soft smile as he stuck his hand out.

"And I'm Yuta, Johnny's roommate. Nice to meet you, Doyoung," He said as he shook the other boys hand. "Is it just you two tonight?" He asked as he bent down to grab the menus.

"Yup!" Johnny responded as he continued to eye the boy beside him causing him to miss the knowing smile that Yuta sent him.

Yuta swiftly led the two boys to the back corner booth that Johnny and Ten usually occupied. He left the two with their menus and informed them that their waiter will be with them in just a minute.

"So, Johnny? That's a foreign name," Doyoung said as he flipped through the menu.

"Yeah, my family is from America, Chicago specifically if you know where that is," Johnny said as a blush coated his cheeks. Johnny loved his family and loved where they are from, but he always felt embarrassed when people pointed out that he technically in a foreigner in a place that always felt more like home to him than his house in Chicago.

"Oh, wow, I'm from Guri, so I'm just a couple hours from my family, I couldn't imagine being so far from home."

"I feel like I'm home when I'm here, so I guess it's not as bad as it could be. I miss my family sometimes, but they always make sure to come visit during the holidays, so it's not that bad."

At that moment their waiter showed up and the two boys placed their order. Johnny may or may not have blushed when he heard the other boy ask for two straws with his milkshake. Okay, Johnny definitely blushed.

"So I just learn your name, and now you want to share a milkshake with me?" Johnny asked as he covered his cheeks, trying to hide how deep his blush had become.

"It's not my fault you never asked," Doyoung huffed out as he crossed his arms.

"You talked to me first; therefore, you should have introduced yourself to me!" Johnny said completely flabbergasted at the other.

"Touche," Doyoung said as he jokingly narrowed his eyes at Johnny. "You said you were doing your student teaching, right?"

"Yeah, absolutely the most stressful thing I have done in my life," Johnny said with a small chuckle.

"So that means you're a senior, right?"

"Yeah, last semester," Johnny said not really understanding the unsettling knot forming in his stomach.

"Oh, cool," Doyoung said quickly starting to down his water as soon as their waiter sat it down on the table.

"Oh?"

"That must be fun, y'know, almost being done with school," Doyoung said with a forced laugh.

"Yeah, I guess. Hey, are you okay?" Johnny questioned as a look reflected in Doyoung's eyes that he doesn't think he has ever seen before in his life.

"Yeah, I'm actually pretty tired. I think I'm gonna go," Doyoung quickly rushed out as he dropped money on the table to cover his part of the meal before quickly rushing out of the diner.

Before Johnny could process exactly what happened the sound of the small bell on the door had all rang and died out, signalling that the lanky boy was already out of his reach.

"He's just scared," Yuta said as he sat down Johnny's food and then continued to sit on the other side of the booth. "It's obvious he likes you, but it's also obvious he's scared. Just like you."

"I'm not scared, I hardly know the guy," Johnny spat as he began to aggressively sip at the milkshake through one of the red, plastic straws.

"And you already feel a really strong connection to him. That's why you're scared," Yuta said, not letting Johnny back away from the subject at hand.

Johnny swallowed down the milkshake as he refused to meet Yuta's eyes. He knew the boy was right. He barely knew Doyoung, but he liked him. He really liked him, and that was scary.

"I think you graduating scares him, and I think that scares you, too," Yuta continued as he grabbed onto the older boys hand.

"What's the point of pursuing someone if you won't ever see them again in a couple of months?" Johnny questioned with a frown etched onto his features.

"You never know what can happen in a couple of months," Yuta replied with a slight smirk etched onto his features.

And maybe it was Yuta's words that made Johnny go to the library every day the next week, sit in the same seat, and keep hoping that Doyoung would show up.

And maybe Yuta knew just how much Johnny's heart broke every day as the boy never showed up and he listened to Johnny's broken cries through the thin walls of their apartment at night.

••

 

It was exactly two weeks and a day after that night at the diner when Doyoung showed up at the library. Slight purple bags set under his eyes and he looked significantly less put together than any other time the older boy had seen him.

Doyoung sat down next to Johnny in an over sized pair of sweats, a sweatshirt that had an oddly suspicious looking stain on it, and hair that stood up in various directions. All in all, the boy looked like a mess and Johnny just wanted to be able to fix whatever was seeming to cause the boy so much stress.

"Tough exam coming up," Johnny said with a forced chuckle as he reached out to brush down some bits of Doyoung's hair.

"I hate you," Doyoung seethed as his eyes burned into Johnny with so much anger. "I really hate you."

"What-"

"No, why do you have to be all cute, and nice, and such a nerd, and a senior? Why do have to the first person I've met on this campus that I've actually liked and be a senior? Why do you have to be a senior?" Doyoung spoke, his voice becoming softer as he continued. By the end, Doyoung had diverted his gaze from Johnny and was now trying to distract his gaze with his own two hands as they fumble against each other.

"I guess I just don't understand why me being a senior has to be the end of the world?" Johnny asked as he thought back on the words that Yuta had told him.

"Because I'll still be here and you won't be. You'll be who knows where and you will find someone you like there. You'll find somebody you like there and then I will feel like an idiot for falling for the senior who has only a month of classes left," Doyoung said as a small sniffle left his body giving away that the boy was crying even if he was trying to hide it from Johnny.

"But maybe I won't go that far, and I can come visit you on the weekends. Or maybe after a month you realize I'm not really worth it and you'll be glad you won't have to worry about me anymore. I am quiet the workaholic, so I'm really thinking the second one is likely," Johnny said with a small laugh as an attempt to lighten the mood. As he lifted Doyoung's face to wipe the tears away and a small giggle left the boys lips, the weight that had been sitting in his heart for the past had started to fade.

"I know I already said it, but I really like you," Doyoung airily spoke as he stared into Johnny's eyes.

"So, I just learned your name a week ago, and now your confessing to me?" Johnny questioned with a slightly raised eyebrow as he tried to hold his laughter in.

"Shut up, I said I like you, not that I'm in love with you. I'm aloud to have a crush on you, jerk. You know what, actually I take it back," Doyoung said with a small chuckle.

"What?" Johnny gasped back. "You can't take it back!" He jested as he looked at Doyoung in disbelief.

"Yes I can, I don't think I can like such a jerk."

"I really can't believe you right now."

The two boys fell back into their usual routines, but this time there was no space between the wooden library seats.

"So when are you going to take me on a date, mister?" Doyoung mused with a slight lilt to his voice as he continued to skim through one of his text books

"You know, you're actually unbelievable," Johnny chuckled as he turned his head to look at Doyoung.

"But you like it," Doyoung teased as he flashed Johnny the most beautiful lopsided, gummy-smile.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do," Johnny breathed out as he pressed a gentle kiss against Doyoung's forehead and felt a blush of his form as he watched the one sprouting along Doyoung's own cheeks.

Maybe Johnny wasn't so upset that he had spent the past four years of his life in the library. Maybe Johnny wasn't so scared of being 'forever alone'. Maybe Johnny hoped that Doyoung would be his forever, and maybe Johnny was right.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this, thank you so much for you support !! I really want to write more Johndo in the future, this pairing is definitely one of my favorites  
> \- Emi


End file.
